Read More

The 58-year-old said: "I wasn't bothered at the time, Garry was dying and I was ready to go myself but my kids had read about the oil online and persuaded me to try it. That was two years ago I haven't looked back since.

"I was sent home to die but am pleased to say I am very much still here and have gone on to see three grandchildren who I never thought I would see."

The cannabis-based oil which has helped Karen in her cancer battle

She said she has been inundated with people asking about how the oil helped her but warns it will not help everyone.

She said: "I took it because I had no choice as all other options were closed to me - had I been offered medical help at the time such as a transplant or chemotherapy, I would have taken it and not used the oil.

Read More

"I always tell people that their medicine is more important and you can't mix it with cannabis oil - you need to trust your doctor or consultant as they are the experts.

"I asked my consultant last time: 'Why do you think I am here is it because of the oil?' He said he didn't know but that I could have been in remission at the time I was told I was terminal and there was a mix-up. We just don't know.

Read More

“The limited results we have so far on using cannabinoid-based drugs as a cancer-fighting therapy show some promise – but we’re far from knowing for certain if these drugs benefit cancer patients, what types of cancer they may be effective against, or at what dose.

“More research is needed, which is why we’re helping to support the only two trials of cannabinoid-based drugs taking place in the UK.”

The oil has not yet been approved for use on the NHS - but is readily available to buy online as a food supplement - although it has been widely reported to help other conditions such as arthritis, depression, MS and other illnesses.

Research into the health benefits of taking cannaboids - particularly for cancer - is currently being undertaken at St George's, University of London.

Read More

Dr Wai Liu, senior research fellow at St George's, University of London, said: “Cannabidiol, which is just one element of the cannabis plant and one that does not have any psychoactive effect on people, has been shown to target communication signals that are malfunctioning in cancer cells.

“It is thought that by correcting these signals we can enable cancer cells to essentially die rather than duplicate. So it may hold the key to understanding how to defeat cancer in some areas.

“We at St George's, University of London, have shown how this can be done. Although our data has mainly been laboratory- based, we have a growing and large collection of testimony from patients using cannabidiol, usually in a cannabis oil type product, who report positive effects on their battle with this dreadful disease."